We are now in the middle of one of the best fruit seasons of the year. yeah citrus!!!! It seems that every year with heirloom verities making a come back and crafty crosses we keep getting more and more amazing citrus grown domestically to enjoy. Check out your local grocery or specialty market to see what is available in your area. Here are a few recipes to make the most of this lovely seasonal fruit.
Cara cara oranges and fennel salad
3 cara cara oranges
2 fennel bulbs
½ bunch flat leaf parsley
½ red onion
1/3 cup olive oil
1/8 cup champagne vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 TB toasted coriander cracked
Zest the oranges into a bowl add in the olive oil, vinegar, coriander and salt and pepper. Mix well and reserve. Section the oranges, pull the leaves off the parsley and thinly slice the fennel and onion. Combine all and dress with the reserved vinaigrette. Serves 6
Roasted leg of lamb with preserved lemons pimento aioli and fingerling potatoes
Roasted Lamb
1 5-6 lb leg of lamb boned and butterflied
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil
Preheat oven to 400. Heat a large skillet and add olive oil. Season the lamb laid out flat with salt and pepper on both sides. Sear one side of lamb. When you turn it over place the skillet in the oven to finish cooking. Roast about 25 minutes and check temperature with a meat thermometer. Remove from oven when it reads at 125. Let rest for 12 minutes in a warm place and it should read 135 on the thermometer. Serves 8
Fingerling potatoes
2 ½ lb fingerling potatoes
12 cloves unpeeled garlic
5 sprigs rosemary
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Wash and slice the potatoes in half long ways. Toss with garlic, rosemary, olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until soft and golden brown. Serves 8
Preserved lemon and Pimenton aioli
1/3 cup minced preserved lemon
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TB smoked pimenton
2 clove garlic, grated
4 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp salt
2 large egg yolk (room temperature)
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Place mustard, pimento, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Add egg and beat till lighter in color slowly add olive oil until mixture is thickened and emulsified. Stir in the preserved lemon. Makes 3 cups
Preserved lemons
1 12 oz glass canning jar with lid
5 lemons
5 bay leaves
1 tsp pink pepper corns
1 cinnamon stick
½ 1b kosher salt
Slice 3 lemons in half length wise. Juice the other 2. Pack the lemon halves with salt and place them in the jar with the spices. pour the reserved lemon juice on top to make sure they are covered. Store in the refrigerator for 3 weeks before using. Can be kept up to one year.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Thursday, December 9, 2010
holiday cookies
Maple pecan teacakes
1 cups butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
11/2 cups ground pecans
3 Tb maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
2 cup ap flour
Cream butter and sugar until smooth then add in nuts and blend. Add in the flour, salt, vanilla and maple continue mixing until smooth. This can be done by hand if you let the butter come to room temperature or in a kitchen aid mixer if the butter is still cold. Scoop the dough into ball with an ice cream scoop or form them into little balls by hand. Bake at 350 until golden brown. when cool toss with powdered sugar in a plastic bag until well coated. Different nuts can always be substituted for the pecans if you have something else on hand.I used to make a pistachio and rosewater teacake using this recipe when I was the pastry chef at Vios.
1 cups butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
11/2 cups ground pecans
3 Tb maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
2 cup ap flour
Cream butter and sugar until smooth then add in nuts and blend. Add in the flour, salt, vanilla and maple continue mixing until smooth. This can be done by hand if you let the butter come to room temperature or in a kitchen aid mixer if the butter is still cold. Scoop the dough into ball with an ice cream scoop or form them into little balls by hand. Bake at 350 until golden brown. when cool toss with powdered sugar in a plastic bag until well coated. Different nuts can always be substituted for the pecans if you have something else on hand.I used to make a pistachio and rosewater teacake using this recipe when I was the pastry chef at Vios.
Monday, November 15, 2010
lox at home
Making lox is much easier then ever imagined and yields amazing results at home. This recipe requires very little time to set up and a weeks worth of patience for the curing. Sliced thin and served on bagels for holiday brunch or with champagne and caviar for New Years.
Basic Gravlax
1 skin on fillet of salmon (2-3 pounds)
½ lemon juiced
1 oz gin
1 cup kosher salt
3/4 cup white sugar
2 Tb fresh ground black pepper
Remove pin bones from salmon and place it skin side down on cheese cloth on a perforated pan or screen with a drip pan under. Combine the gin and lemon juice and brush the mixture onto the salmon fillet. In a bowl mix salt, sugar and black pepper. Pack the dry mixture on to the fleshy side of the salmon. Wrap the cheese cloth around the top and place a sheet pan with a 1 lb weight onto. Place in the fridge for three days. (If your fish is extremely thick it will take a day or so longer). When you remove it on the third day most of the dry cure will have melted into the fish. If any dry bits are left brush them off and you are ready to slice the fish. Slice at an angle as thin as possible and avoid cutting into the skin. After the cure is removed the lox will last a week plus in the fridge.
Basic Gravlax
1 skin on fillet of salmon (2-3 pounds)
½ lemon juiced
1 oz gin
1 cup kosher salt
3/4 cup white sugar
2 Tb fresh ground black pepper
Remove pin bones from salmon and place it skin side down on cheese cloth on a perforated pan or screen with a drip pan under. Combine the gin and lemon juice and brush the mixture onto the salmon fillet. In a bowl mix salt, sugar and black pepper. Pack the dry mixture on to the fleshy side of the salmon. Wrap the cheese cloth around the top and place a sheet pan with a 1 lb weight onto. Place in the fridge for three days. (If your fish is extremely thick it will take a day or so longer). When you remove it on the third day most of the dry cure will have melted into the fish. If any dry bits are left brush them off and you are ready to slice the fish. Slice at an angle as thin as possible and avoid cutting into the skin. After the cure is removed the lox will last a week plus in the fridge.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Empanadas
As fall becomes winter and the outdoor activities of warmer months become indoor ones, group projects involving food become all the more practical. These little treats are fun made as a group sitting around the table and talking. I have many fond memories of making empanadas with friends down south and drinking coffee while we wait for them to bake or fry. They can always be frozen before baking and baked at a later date if you end up with to many.
Empanadas with caramelized onion and goat cheese
Filling
8 large yellow onions thinly sliced
4 shallots medium diced
1 bunch flat leaf parsley chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 TB olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cup fresh goat cheese
Filling heat a large frying pan with the olive oil, when hot add in garlic and shallots and sliced onion, season. When transparent and light brown remove from heat and cool in the fridge. Add the goat cheese and parsley to the mix when it has cooled.
Dough
7 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 TB sugar
12 TB vegetable shortening
3 sticks butter
1 cup and 4 TB ice water
Egg wash
1 egg beaten with 1 TB water
Dough In kitchen aid mixing bowl with the paddle attachment add in all of the dry dough ingredients, then add in the chilled fats, blend on low until it is grainy and is evenly mixed. Add in the ice water slowly. As soon as the water is incorporated remove from the mixer (do not over mix). Set in the fridge for 10 min and let the dough rest wrapped in plastic. Divide the dough into 1 inch balls and roll them out to be 1/8 inch thick and as round as possible. Fill one side with the cooled filling and fold in half and seal. Brush with egg wash and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake in an oven heated to 375 until golden brown. Yields about 24
Empanadas with caramelized onion and goat cheese
Filling
8 large yellow onions thinly sliced
4 shallots medium diced
1 bunch flat leaf parsley chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 TB olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cup fresh goat cheese
Filling heat a large frying pan with the olive oil, when hot add in garlic and shallots and sliced onion, season. When transparent and light brown remove from heat and cool in the fridge. Add the goat cheese and parsley to the mix when it has cooled.
Dough
7 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 TB sugar
12 TB vegetable shortening
3 sticks butter
1 cup and 4 TB ice water
Egg wash
1 egg beaten with 1 TB water
Dough In kitchen aid mixing bowl with the paddle attachment add in all of the dry dough ingredients, then add in the chilled fats, blend on low until it is grainy and is evenly mixed. Add in the ice water slowly. As soon as the water is incorporated remove from the mixer (do not over mix). Set in the fridge for 10 min and let the dough rest wrapped in plastic. Divide the dough into 1 inch balls and roll them out to be 1/8 inch thick and as round as possible. Fill one side with the cooled filling and fold in half and seal. Brush with egg wash and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake in an oven heated to 375 until golden brown. Yields about 24
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Fresh Fruit Season...
The best way to enjoy amazing fresh fruit is with baked good. Feel free to just make the cake and serve it with fresh fruit or roast your fruit to intensify the flavors. A little whipped cream and summer couldn't get any better.
Butter Cake
1 cup soft butter
2 cup all purpose flour
2 2/3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
8 eggs
1 vanilla bean
2 cups fresh seasonal fruit tossed with a little sugar and roasted in the oven
Cream butter, sugar add in eggs then dry. Grease a spring form pan, putting your roasted fruit on the bottom and topping with batter. Bake at 350 till a toothpick will pull out clean.
Butter Cake
1 cup soft butter
2 cup all purpose flour
2 2/3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
8 eggs
1 vanilla bean
2 cups fresh seasonal fruit tossed with a little sugar and roasted in the oven
Cream butter, sugar add in eggs then dry. Grease a spring form pan, putting your roasted fruit on the bottom and topping with batter. Bake at 350 till a toothpick will pull out clean.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Sweet wines.....yummy
This is a little shout out to Botrytis that delightful little mold that concentrates sugar and acidity in the grapes of the worlds greatest sweet wines. Every grape is hand harvested when it has reached the peak of its rotten state. “Noble rot” as it is called and it truly is, loves misty lowland vineyard, France, Hungary and Germany being its fondest stomping grounds. Every region has it own story about how this oddity of nature came to be discovered, they all have the same theme. A farmer was unable to harvest the grapes watches in horror as they rot and turn gray and as necessity is the creator of invention when harvest was finally possible, they made the wine. And Tadaaaaa…. Some of the most honeyed,concentrated flavor and aging power in the wine world.
Check out: Sauternes, Hungary and the Loire Valley for some great examples
Serve with: Blue cheese, very lightly sweetened fruit desserts or alone.
Check out: Sauternes, Hungary and the Loire Valley for some great examples
Serve with: Blue cheese, very lightly sweetened fruit desserts or alone.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Whole fried fish
Crispy local sea bass or rock fish with citrus soy sauce and spring onions
Sauce
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup hoison sauce
½ bunch chopped cilantro
½ inch grated fresh ginger
1 clove minced or microplaned garlic
¼ soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all together in a small mixing bowl
Spring onions
1 bunch scallions or spring onions
toss in neutral cooking oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Can be cooked on a hot BBQ or seared in a skillet.
Whole fish, scaled and gutted. (Depending on the size I like to do one per person)
1 box Cornstarch
Salt and pepper
Home fryer or a large pot of neutral cooking oil
Pat the fish dry with paper towels, slice into the flesh fallowing the pattern of the gills and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dust fish inside and out with cornstarch and place in hot oil. Cook until you can pull a chunk of the flesh away from the bone. It is cooked when not transparent.
Sauce
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup hoison sauce
½ bunch chopped cilantro
½ inch grated fresh ginger
1 clove minced or microplaned garlic
¼ soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all together in a small mixing bowl
Spring onions
1 bunch scallions or spring onions
toss in neutral cooking oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Can be cooked on a hot BBQ or seared in a skillet.
Whole fish, scaled and gutted. (Depending on the size I like to do one per person)
1 box Cornstarch
Salt and pepper
Home fryer or a large pot of neutral cooking oil
Pat the fish dry with paper towels, slice into the flesh fallowing the pattern of the gills and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dust fish inside and out with cornstarch and place in hot oil. Cook until you can pull a chunk of the flesh away from the bone. It is cooked when not transparent.
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